Chap 43
"What do you mean, inconclusive?" Ianto frowned at Owen who made an unhappy sound.
"I mean, we 'ave to do them again!" Owen answered as he watched Ianto's confusion flicker across his face.
"Owen …"
"Look, it could be any number of things. A false positive, a contaminated slide, bloods left too long before the tests were done, lab mix-up." Owen listed several possibilities and sighed, "It could have been stress, stressing with it all too."
"Look, it's not a positive" Owen shrugged.
"Not a negative either" Ianto pouted as he rubbed his hands on his knees with fear.
"Owen, what if ..."
"No!" Owen barked, "Don't even go there. Stress, remember? Try to relax, eat well, get plenty of sleep and we'll do it again in three days."
"God" Ianto rubbed his face, then nodded.
.
.
.
"Taddy!" Walter whispered, "Gotta be quiet. My Babbit is sleeping!"
"Oh, so he's yours now is he?" Ianto grinned at his mop haired beast as he hung up the keys.
"Well, I'm the one who prayed to the stars for him" Walter deadpanned in true Jones style, "Ergo, he's mine!
"Ergo? Cheeky little monkey" Ianto growled as he grabbed for him and he scampered off with giggles smothered behind his hand.
Noah was asleep in the sun, in his little beanbag chair.
His little legs had filled out and dimples were in attendance, his elbows matched. His mouth was pouting as he snuffled and the hands clasped at an invisible toy. Ianto watched with wonder as he knelt over him, seeing those delicate lashes flutter against his pale skin like butterfly wings.
Victoria had been on the kitchen and walked through to check on her youngest grandchild, and was treated to the rare sight of Ianto Harkness-Jones in full wonder.
She smiled as she sat on the edge of the sofa arm, content to watch Ianto lovingly tuck the little blanket over Noah's legs as the wee lamb had kicked it off in his dream state.
"What do you think he's dreaming about?" Ianto whispered, "Can't be a nightmare, too young to be traumatised … isn't he?"
"Yes sweetheart." She smiled at his lovely soft heart, "He's probably dreaming about having a bath. He does love to kick his legs like that in the water."
"Yeah, he got Jack well wet last night" Ianto snorted softly.
"Walter was saying that he had his bath with you" Victoria said and Ianto heard a warning coming on.
"Walter has no shame in his body, nor I in mine." Ianto said as calmly as he could, "We're all boys here and I want Walter to recognise that we are all the same, all safe to be ourselves. Jack and I have always bathed together and Walter has joined either one or both of us at times."
"It's just … well, he's getting bigger" she huffed, "I think he needed to learn modesty as well!"
"What brought this on?" Jack's voice asked from above them.
Ianto looked up to the mezzanine level where Jack looked like a supermodel posing for a magazine shoot as he leaned casually over the railing.
"Earlier, Myfanwy was playing with him in the garden and I told him he would get his good trousers dirty" She tried to explain, "And he … well."
"So he took them off and went naked?" Ianto supposed as he looked up at Jack's wide grin.
"He looked like a wild heathen frolicking amongst the flowers" she chided, "Goodness knows what I would have done if he'd gotten a bee sting!"
Ianto laid on the couch and buried his face in the pillow as he howled with laughter, trying not to wake Noah.
Once Jack got his own breath back he went to find the wayward child and explain the need for a little modesty in the house because a lady was here.